Time to Build ...

Tuesday

May 27, 2008 at 12:01 AMMay 27, 2008 at 2:29 PM

By Tamara HendersonTimes Staff Writer

"See, these are all my angels,” Jean Williams said of the men in her home. “I’ve asked God to help me, and He sent me all these angels.”Williams’ “angels” worked diligently in the midday heat Wednesday, hammering and drilling to make her home complete once more.On April 11, Williams was alerted that a storm was in the area. Williams, 62, resides in a mobile home near Walnut Park and feared for the safety of her six grandchildren who were visiting with her that day.“They say that you can hear a tornado coming, and I definitely heard it,” she said. “And I’ll never forget the sound.”Williams said as the storm came through, she and her grandchildren sought cover in a walk-in closet on one end of the home. Suddenly, her daughter came through the front door, and Williams had to react quickly.“I just ran out and snatched her into the closet with us,” she said. “She showed up just minutes before the storm came through.”The family huddled in the closet with her grandchildren, the youngest just 2 years old. While Williams was well aware of the danger of a violent storm, she didn’t let the children know that they should be afraid.“We were in the closet praying, and I said that if we talk to God, he won’t let anything happen to us,” she said. “I wasn’t really scared,” said her 10-year-old grandson, Heath Humphrey. “But (the noise) freaked me out a little bit.”As lighting flashed and the thunder shook the mobile home, Williams struggled to keep the children calm.“The 2-year-old didn’t even know to be scared,” she said. “We just pretended it was all a game.”When the noise died and all was still, Williams gathered her grandkids and got her daughter to take them away. It was only after they left that she realized the devastation the storm had left behind.The high winds had toppled a massive tree that smashed one end of her home — fortunately, the opposite end from where she and her family had taken shelter during the storm.“I cried for a few minutes,” Williams said. “I’m on disability, and I don’t draw enough to pay for (home) insurance.”Williams recently was diagnosed with breast cancer and had been dealing with the pain and emotional distress associated with the news. She had been a waitress for many years at several local restaurants, one in which she met Randy Campbell more than 10 years ago.Campbell is a part of the Christian Cavalry Motorcycle Ministry. He helped organize an effort to benefit Williams and repair her home.“She’s just a good person and now that she’s sick, she just lies in bed,” he said. “She was a waitress at a lot of the popular places around town, and people would probably know her face if they saw her.“Motorcycle ministry has done well in reaching out to those who have been forgotten, and she seems to be one of them,” Campbell said. After he heard of the storm damage, he organized bikers to help raise money for her groceries and to get donations from local suppliers such as Marvin’s and Allstate Metal Roofing Manufacturers.“We try to reach out to the people who can’t be reached, and I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more,” Campbell said of Williams.So the volunteers gathered in the yard with lumber and metal and tools to help rebuild her roof and the room on the end of her house that was demolished.Williams was grateful for the repairs being made to her home, but she had no idea that was just one blessing the volunteers intended for her.“I just wanted to let you know that (the motorcycle cavalry) is going to do a ride for you so that you won’t have to worry about money,” Campbell said. “I just don’t what to say — thank you all,” she said with emotion in her voice. “I just love you to death for this.”Williams embraced Campbell, who said, “We’re not going to let you run short.”For information on the Christian Cavalry Ministry, or to make donations for Williams, call Campbell, 442-1536.

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